Hello my lovelies!
How are we all? Are you all enjoying this lovely weather! Grab yourself a nice ice cold drink or an ice pop and lets catch up. If you love an ice pop I can definitely recommend these that I picked up from Aldi last week! 99p and they are absolutely lush!
The last couple of weeks have been SO hectic! I mean I know life with a newborn is hectic anyway but even more so this last couple of weeks battling to try and get the house sorted after the leak we had! I never did fill you in...
Basically one morning - when Erin was 12 days old, I woke up at around 6.45am to water dripping on my face... I was a bit confused and nudged Adam who went to have a look at the window to see if it was raining... men eh!
I said again about there being water on my face and he went from our bedroom and into the bathroom next door where you could hear the sound of practically Niagra Falls (I kid you not). There was literally water pouring through the light fitting, down the walls.. everywhere! I scooped Erin up and told Adam to run downstairs to turn the stop tap off while we figured out what was going on and I had a little cry on the end of the bed about the fact that this was all happening while we had a 12 day old baby! I threw some clothes on, filled a bag with stuff for Erin and rang my mum in a total flap asking if I could come round to their house (luckily they live in the next street along) and went downstairs to find the a huge hole in the ceiling and water all over the living room floor!
Anyway I went off to mum and dads and Adam (who luckily was still on Paternity leave) sorted everything and rang the insurance company etc.
Its been a long process of loss adjusters, professional driers and dehumidifiers, having the floor ripped up in the living room and having to live with a concrete floor for the past 6 weeks or so but I think we are finally getting there. I have been very insisting with the insurance company about getting the work done quickly with having Erin and on Monday the builder finally came round to double check the work and say he could potentially start next week or the week after! I am so relieved as it has been horrible. You can NOT get cosy in a living room with no flooring. We have no floor in the bathroom, the paint is all pealing off on the bathroom walls and theres a massive crack in our bedroom ceiling (not forgetting the hole in the living room ceiling too). The builder said we are lucky to be getting done so quick as some people have waited 9 or 10 months but there was no way I was letting it drag on any longer! So hopefully we are nearly sorted! We've had to pick all new paint and wallpaper which is a little annoying considering we only decorated a year ago when we moved in but has allowed us to change things up a bit and have been able to swap from laminate to carpet in the living room! If you head over to my Instagram I am sure I will post come pictures over there once the work is done.
Elsewhere Erin is continuing to discover new and different things. Last week we went to our first baby class - Baby Sensory! Erin absolutely loved it! She has really started to come into her own and get more alert looking at different things these last couple of weeks. I brought her a hanging toy for her pram a couple of weeks ago and she is obsessed with it!
In line with all the work we have been doing inside the house we have also been sprucing up our garden which is especially nice in the lovely warm weather we have been having. We hadnt enjoyed the garden that much last year and it has been difficult because we didnt let our 3 cats outside because we live on a main road however since having Erin they have got really restless being in all day so we decided to bite the bullet and let them out! What it now means is we can sit and enjoy the garden with the doors open so we are trying to get the garden lovely so it is an extension to the house. I am currently sat outside with Erin in her pushchair in the shade which is lovely! I could get used to this! Lets hope the sunshine lasts!
My Book business is going really well. I am enjoying being able to build a beautiful collection for Erin and this week I even got my first new team member which means I get to help another lovely mummy build a business just like mine which is exciting. If thats something you like the sound of give me a shout!
Anyway my lovelies. I think that is all for now! I am on the hunt for some more baby classes and new things that me and Erin can try. My friend from work who is also on Mat Leave has just booked us tickets for Bring you own baby comedy in Manchester in September where Jason Manford is appearing. It is basically a comedy show, in the day so its like a night out you dont need a baby sitter for because you can take your baby along for free. Find the details here as there is lots of different venues. Cineworld also do something similar called Cinebabies where they show normal films but have the volume lower and it is more baby friendly. I am hoping they will have Mama Mia 2 on that when it comes out! If you know anything else like this please let me know!
How are we all? Are you all enjoying this lovely weather! Grab yourself a nice ice cold drink or an ice pop and lets catch up. If you love an ice pop I can definitely recommend these that I picked up from Aldi last week! 99p and they are absolutely lush!
The last couple of weeks have been SO hectic! I mean I know life with a newborn is hectic anyway but even more so this last couple of weeks battling to try and get the house sorted after the leak we had! I never did fill you in...
Basically one morning - when Erin was 12 days old, I woke up at around 6.45am to water dripping on my face... I was a bit confused and nudged Adam who went to have a look at the window to see if it was raining... men eh!
I said again about there being water on my face and he went from our bedroom and into the bathroom next door where you could hear the sound of practically Niagra Falls (I kid you not). There was literally water pouring through the light fitting, down the walls.. everywhere! I scooped Erin up and told Adam to run downstairs to turn the stop tap off while we figured out what was going on and I had a little cry on the end of the bed about the fact that this was all happening while we had a 12 day old baby! I threw some clothes on, filled a bag with stuff for Erin and rang my mum in a total flap asking if I could come round to their house (luckily they live in the next street along) and went downstairs to find the a huge hole in the ceiling and water all over the living room floor!
Anyway I went off to mum and dads and Adam (who luckily was still on Paternity leave) sorted everything and rang the insurance company etc.
Its been a long process of loss adjusters, professional driers and dehumidifiers, having the floor ripped up in the living room and having to live with a concrete floor for the past 6 weeks or so but I think we are finally getting there. I have been very insisting with the insurance company about getting the work done quickly with having Erin and on Monday the builder finally came round to double check the work and say he could potentially start next week or the week after! I am so relieved as it has been horrible. You can NOT get cosy in a living room with no flooring. We have no floor in the bathroom, the paint is all pealing off on the bathroom walls and theres a massive crack in our bedroom ceiling (not forgetting the hole in the living room ceiling too). The builder said we are lucky to be getting done so quick as some people have waited 9 or 10 months but there was no way I was letting it drag on any longer! So hopefully we are nearly sorted! We've had to pick all new paint and wallpaper which is a little annoying considering we only decorated a year ago when we moved in but has allowed us to change things up a bit and have been able to swap from laminate to carpet in the living room! If you head over to my Instagram I am sure I will post come pictures over there once the work is done.
Elsewhere Erin is continuing to discover new and different things. Last week we went to our first baby class - Baby Sensory! Erin absolutely loved it! She has really started to come into her own and get more alert looking at different things these last couple of weeks. I brought her a hanging toy for her pram a couple of weeks ago and she is obsessed with it!
In line with all the work we have been doing inside the house we have also been sprucing up our garden which is especially nice in the lovely warm weather we have been having. We hadnt enjoyed the garden that much last year and it has been difficult because we didnt let our 3 cats outside because we live on a main road however since having Erin they have got really restless being in all day so we decided to bite the bullet and let them out! What it now means is we can sit and enjoy the garden with the doors open so we are trying to get the garden lovely so it is an extension to the house. I am currently sat outside with Erin in her pushchair in the shade which is lovely! I could get used to this! Lets hope the sunshine lasts!
My Book business is going really well. I am enjoying being able to build a beautiful collection for Erin and this week I even got my first new team member which means I get to help another lovely mummy build a business just like mine which is exciting. If thats something you like the sound of give me a shout!
Anyway my lovelies. I think that is all for now! I am on the hunt for some more baby classes and new things that me and Erin can try. My friend from work who is also on Mat Leave has just booked us tickets for Bring you own baby comedy in Manchester in September where Jason Manford is appearing. It is basically a comedy show, in the day so its like a night out you dont need a baby sitter for because you can take your baby along for free. Find the details here as there is lots of different venues. Cineworld also do something similar called Cinebabies where they show normal films but have the volume lower and it is more baby friendly. I am hoping they will have Mama Mia 2 on that when it comes out! If you know anything else like this please let me know!
♥
Today marks 2 years since Adam and I said I do! I can’t quite believe how that’s happened! It only seems like 5 minutes ago since we were standing at that alter exchanging vows!
Year 2 of our marriage has been pretty amazing as our 2 became a 3 and we extended our family 💖 Last night we had a lovely night out to the cinema our first night out without Erin... I won’t lie.. I spent the entire time thinking about her but I think the good thing about going to the cinema was that I couldn’t keep checking my phone or texting my mum. I knew she would be ok as she was with my mum and dad but hey.. a Mummy can twitch eh!
So what have I learnt during my second year of marriage?
- There is nothing better than being at home and cuddling up on the couch! I spent a whole chunk of this year of our marriage being pregnant which meant I didn’t always feel like getting dressed up and going out.. but you know what.. that’s ok! Sometimes cuddling up on the sofa with a movie or binge watching your favourite TV show together is even better
- That said it is still nice to go out and enjoy time together just the 2 of you! I’m still a big believer in enjoying date night! Just because your married doesn’t mean you should stop enjoying this time together
- Be grateful for each other. No matter how busy your day is always take that moment to have a kiss or a cuddle. Adam and I have developed a new routine where we take Erin to bed after her bath and while she is falling asleep on my chest we cuddle up as a 3 on the bed and we do a crossword together - sounds cheesy but this is a lovely part of my day.
- Marriage is about compromise. Sometimes it’s nice to let him have the football on the TV because even though you have no interest whatsoever he does. Last year for our anniversary I got Adam tickets to see Jools Holland even though I don’t really enjoy his style of music but you know what.. we went and it was a lovely night out together - even though I didn’t enjoy it as much as him, seeing his face light up with how much he enjoyed it was worth it
- It’s important to dream together. Last year Adam and I brought our first house together. I say first house.. I mean forever home (cause I’ve told Adam ain’t no way I’m moving again - it’s too stressful 😂) so we have spent a lot of time this year dreaming about what we want to do to the house.. extensions.. loft conversions. Plus having Erin has helped us to dream about other family wishes.. having more children, wanting to take her/them to Disney when they are old enough, family holidays - sometimes it’s lovely to just sit and dream about the future together
I’m so excited to see what this next year brings... in year 1 we brought a home, in year 2 we had our daughter.. let’s see what year 3 brings! Adam says a lottery win - although I did remind him he needs to actually start playing the lottery to win 😂
I know I keep saying this but how on earth did my baby get to 9 weeks old!! Time is just flying by at the moment!
9 weeks in, Erin is still sleeping really well. Most of the time she settles off after a feed at around 10 after her bath and will sleep until about 2/3/4 when she will wake for a feed and sleep through until 6/7 - the other night she slept from 11-5! Total flook though!
Speaking of baths, Erin absolutely LOVES the bath! We have started getting into a routine of bathing her every night - I know it isn’t recommended but I only use products on her once a week (on a Sunday) and just use water every other night. I’ve found that having a bath helps settle her and as I say she loves it.
This picture makes me laugh so much! This face was the result of Adam splashing her. We use the top off my dry shampoo bottle and just tip it over her... she loves it! She thinks it’s hilarious! We recently also upgraded her to the big bath and picked up an Angel care Bath seat on Facebook for £5! I tell you what I can not understand people who turn their nose up at buying second hand because we have had some great bargains! It makes it so much easier to bath her with this seat as it means I can bath her myself and just let the water out and go and get her ready for bed which is especially helpful on the nights when Adam isn’t home at bathtime (like when he has choir practice).
Last week we had the dreaded 8 week jabs! I think I was probably more traumatised that she was! She had a little cry when she had the actual injection but there were no lasting effects and she spent most of the day snuggled with Mummy! At least they are done now! It also means we can now take her swimming which I am looking forward to and we are going to take her this weekend! As she loves the bath so much I am hoping she will love it! I’ll report back!
Erin is now developing a proper cheeky personality. I love when she wakes up in the morning and I go to her bedside cot she has the biggest smile when she sees me. She’s definitely knows different people now especially me and Adam but also my mum and dad too. She loves sitting on my dads chest and staring at him apparently grandad is fascinating - great tummy time practice too!
I love watching her grow every week and how much she is changing but also wish it would slow down.. just a little bit 💖
If your anything like me, from the moment I found out I was pregnant, I was counting down the days to starting my maternity leave, not just because it signifies being closer to your baby arriving, because heck who wouldn't look forward to having a good chunk of time off!
The options for maternity leave vary, depending where you work but I chose to take 9 months off. I finished work on 29th March and aren't due back at work until early January. Bonus for me is that my annual leave from work runs from April to March which has allowed me to tag all my holidays for this year on the end of my maternity leave which means I am not back to work until the middle of February!
Although your counting down to your maternity leave and you of course have baby to keep you occupied during your time off, you really don't want to spend the next 9 months just sitting at home with baby! Heres some ideas of some things you could do maximise the time you have off :)
Learn a new skill
I've been saying for ages I wanted to learn how to crochet and have taught myself the very basics - I can now do a square! I'm working up to actually doing a pattern!
Read more books
They say sleep when baby sleeps, it doesn't always work like that! But chilling with a book when baby naps is a good alternative! I've recently started adding some more books to my to read pile and am seriously looking forward to Louise Pentland (aka Sprinkle of Glitters) second book being released later this in the Summer.
Listen to podcasts
There are some great podcasts out there. I recently got into podcasts and particularly love Giovanni Fletchers podcast - Happy Mum, Happy Baby where she chats to different mums about there experience with motherhood.
Go to new places
The perfect thing with having baby at this time of year is that if the weather is good there is nothing better than grabbing the pram and going for a stroll. Perfect time to explore new places - even if its just in your local area.
Start a creative / business idea
I'd been toying with the idea of starting a new business before my mat leave began after chatting to a friend I went to school with about Usborne books. I decided to become an Usborne Organiser as it sounded the perfect way to make a bit of extra money, earn books and meet new people. They have some truly amazing books and I can't wait to build Erin's collection. Browse the books here.
Start a blog
I love blogging as a creative outlet and being a new mummy is the perfect time to start a blog and document your journey
Get your home / finances / personal affairs in order
Obviously maternity leave is hard because the pay is less than you would normally expect and you have to tighten those purse strings a little. Its the perfect time to look into all your outgoings and see if there is anything you could change. We did a review of all our direct debits and cancelled anything we were paying for that we didn't need to be and did a comparison on our energy supplies to see when our tariff ended if we could save any more (we did). I also looked into life insurance - something about a little one makes you think sensibly like that - I havent picked one yet but its on my list of things to do!
Get fit and healthy
Although now isnt the time to be putting pressure on yourself to suddenly drop a lot of weight and get super toned, getting out and enjoying a walk and getting those steps up soon adds up. There are also a few different exercise classes you can take your baby along too! I'm particularly looking forward to trying a baby sling dance class (I will report back!)
Educate yourself about food
Pregnancy makes you very conscious about what is actually going into your body and even after baby is born, it is the perfect time to get yourself some knowledge about food and what you are putting into your body. Its also perfect to take the time so that when your baby is ready for weaning you know exactly the perfect food to be giving them.
Take the time to think about what you want
There really is nothing like having a baby that makes you reevaluate th
Consider a career change
Depending on who you work for, you need to be careful as if you decide not to go back to work while on maternity leave, you could end up paying your maternity pay back however it is the perfect time (in line with the above mentioned) to have a think about whether its time to try something new.
Network with other mums
One thing I looked forward to most about being on maternity leave was meeting other mums and making new friends.
Visit places that are usually busy at the weekends
So far we have the zoo and aquarium on our list - certain places like this may also be cheaper if you visit in the week.
Rethink your wardrobe
Just last week I went through my entire wardrobe and drawers and bagged up all the clothes I felt no longer matched my style. I'm not saying being a mum means you have to adopt a certain style but its finding a balance of happy mum style.
Look after your skin
Post pregnancy is the perfect time to maximise your skin care routine and try and maintain that pregnancy glow as long as you can!
Plan and make visions
Again there is something about having a baby that makes you think about the future. I started myself a pinterest board HERE of plans we have including a house extension and loft conversion and saving up long term to take little miss to Disney
♥
If like me your a shopper at Tesco, be it regularly like us, or on the occasional visit, you probably have a Tesco club card and collect your Tesco points when you shop.
It’s been well known for years that you can exchange your Tesco club card points for vouchers for things such as days out to places such as the Merlin attractions, cinemas and other local attractions (Trentham gardens is a local one for us).
From 11th June, some of the companies who are partnering with Tesco on their club card exchange are changing the amount you will exchange your points for..
What is basically means is that some of the partners who you currently get 4 x the amount for will now be dropping down to 3 x the amount. So if you have been saving your points up for a family day out, it is worth checking if the partner you are planning to use if affected.
It’s not all bad news though as some of the attractions that you currently only get 2 x on you will now get 3 x on.
If your a regular Tesco shopper it is definitely worth heading over the website and checking it out.
I had £16.50 in vouchers and have just exchanged them for vouchers for cover admission for me and Adam to the sea life centre. As the voucher is valid for 6 months we are going to wait towards the end of the year and take Erin for a day out, when she is a bit bigger and able to enjoy seeing the fish and sharks!
You have just 1 week to go so head over to the Tesco website and have a look what you can exchange your points for.
When your having a baby there are hundreds of lists on the internet about the essentials that you need for your newborn. It only seemed right now to pass the occasion without adding my own list of what we have found to be the essentials. Obviously it’s worth noting every baby is different and what works for one doesn’t necessarily work for another. So here goes...
- Tommee Tippee Perfect prep machine - £75 - I’m in the process of writing a post about feeding and our journey into breastfeeding but needless to say, we ended up switching to formula around 2 weeks ago. I’d seen these prep machines online while I was pregnant but at £75 (the older model is nearly always on offer) we decided it wasn’t an essential. We quickly realised awesome this product actually is and I picked one up second hand on Facebook marketplace for £15 - total bargain and worth every penny. It makes a bottle at perfect drinking temperature in 2 minutes - perfect when your little one is having a melt down because they are starving. The only problem I’ve found is that it only does a minimum of 4oz so if your little one isn’t drinking that much in one go it can be a waste
- Holder for your changing bag - I got my craft on before Erin arrived after seeing bags online where you could store nappies, wipes and nappy sacks. They rang e from ones that are effectively like a make up bag to posh ones which have a changing mat built in. Which ever you decide to do - it’s so worth having your nappies, wipes and such in one little zip, grab easy bag as it means if your in a coffee shop or somewhere where you may change baby on the go, you don’t need to take the whole changing bag with you as everything is always in one place
- Tommee Tippee starter set - £159.99 currently £69.99 at mothercare - this set is amazing! It literally comes with everything you could ever need for your bottle feeling journey from a steriliser, bottles, formula holders and a bottle brush. I really love the Tommee Tippee bottles so this was perfect for us - we picked it up when it was on offer in mothercare - currently is again
- Sleeping bags - These have become popular over recent years and there’s so many available in everywhere you go to varying in price. I picked up a couple of them in Sainsbury's at Easter when they had the 25% off in TU making them around £10 - one in a 1.5 tog and one in a 2.5 tog - they are available in 0-6 months, 6-12 months, 12-18 months and 18-24 months. We will defiantly be using these until she is too big to. She loves being snuggled up in them.
- A playmat - Erin loves nothing more than lying on the floor and kicking her legs about and having a good stretch. We decided that with some of the money we received as presents when she arrived we would buy her a play mat so she could enjoy some time lying of the floor and having a kick. The one we decided on was from Mothercare (after spending at least 15 minutes looking at the different ones available. It has lovely bright colours, was a good size and the lion makes different tunes. It also comes with a cushion that helps with tummy time.
- Baby Sling Wrap - I actually purchased a different carrier before Erin was born however every time I wore it, it didn't feel right. I loved the idea of baby wearing and had read a lot about it while I was pregnant so I persevered. We went along to our local Mum2mum Market last week which is a second hand market / table top sale where parents sell all their baby stuff. If you have one in your area I would defiantly recommend it! Here I picked up a Kari Me Baby Sling (available here on amazon) for a bargain price of £10 - I have only used it for a week but i am SO in love with it and it feels so much more secure. And even better Erin loves it too! If like me you have been looking into baby wearing I would say go for it! I am just sad I didn't do it from the start but I have learnt my lesson for next time.
- Nasal Aspirator - £6 - I'll be honest - this was on a lot of the baby essential lists I read however, I passed it off thinking it was just one of those gimmick items you didn't really need. However this last week Erin has had a cold and cough and I'll admit I turned to Amazon's amazing prime next day delivery (here) and ordered one which arrived the next day. It is awesome - never thought I would be that person who say things like that about a nasal aspirator.. but when your baby is too young for Calpol and can't breath through there nose properly its amazing what you get excited about.
- Baby Swing - This is one of those, depends on your baby products, some babies absolutely hate being in a swinging chair - Erin however loves it. She is quite happy to sit there watching everything thats going on or having a little snooze. I wasn't sure she would love it as she HATES the car seat with a passion. The picture above is her sitting in the swing while I cooked tea the other night. I positioned her in the kitchen away from anywhere she may get splashed or anything and she sat quite happily and watched me. A lot of babies are quite happy to sit like that as long as they can see you. Its been quite handy for getting things done as I can just pop her in it and crack on as long as she is happy. The one we have is the Fisher Price Chair - It was given to use by a friend however is still available in Argos HERE for £59.99 (on offer - normally £84.99). What I love about this one is it folds flat too so we can take it on holiday to Centre Parcs when we go in September
- Ollie the Owl - £34.99 - Again this one was on a lot of the lists we saw and one we picked up after lots of recommendations. We havent' had to use it too much as *touch wood* Erin tends to settle easily however when she isn't quite settled we set it off and she soon goes off to sleep. What I love about Ollie is it has a mode on it where you can set it so if baby stirs in the middle of the night, Ollie will go off automatically by monitoring the motion.
Thats our essentials so far! Im sure as we go on there will be lots of other things I can include and I may do another one of these list as she gets older. There are also lots of these lists around of things people wish they had not brought. I'll be honest, at the moment there isn't anything I can think go that I would defiantly say I wish I had not brought. I spent a lot of time during my pregnancy viewing different lists and watching videos about essentials so I was very clued up about things before we brought anything. Again there may be things as we go on but I will update you in the future.
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